Life goes on
by Cappucino-Conspiracy
Summary: A continuation of where season 2 ended. I'm not quite sure where it's going to end, or if it even is going to end... maybe it can just keep going.. Anyway, first storyline is *obviously* going to be dealing with the aftermath of the Chosen One.
1. Chapter 1

Vlad woke with a start to see Ingrid sitting on their father's throne laughing maniacally while twirling a stake in her hands. He was about to get up, but then decided against it. It seemed like Will's death had been the final nail in the coffin for Ingrid, she was acting completely crazy, and pretending to still be out cold seemed like the best option.

"The streets of Stokely will run red with blood! Will's death will be avenged, and I will be the most feared and powerful vampire in Britain! Countess Dracula, the Princess of Darkness" She started to laugh again, but this time was cut short by the Count, who Ingrid had quite forgotten about.

"Oh Ingrid, don't be ridiculous. _You_, the head of the family? Ah, girls have such strange ideas. Besides, don't forget that _I_ am the head of the family, or has your brain turned to garlic?" Vlad inwardly groaned. He really didnt think it best for his father to be antagonising Ingrid in her current state.

"No, Father, of course it hasn't. But with you out of the way" She flicked the stake into the air and caught it again "the honour would fall to me. Now, are you ready to become dust Father?"

"Oh, for garlic's sake Ingrid. You're acting like a breather. That half- fang boyfriend of yours was a bad influence on you."

In an instant, Ingrid was next to the Count's cage, eyes glowing red and fangs bared. "Don't you _ever_ talk about Will like that" she snarled through the glowing bars, and then a second of confusion passed across her face. "What do you mean, for garlic's sake? Of course I will have the throne when you have been slain! Won't I?"

"No, of course not Ingrid" replied the Count "How could you be so stupid?" Then he added under his breath "Though I couldn't really expect anything more"

"What?" Yelled Ingrid quickly returning to a near hysterical state "Well," said the Count calmly " If I die, or whatever it is that one who is already dead does, or relinquish my position, it goes to young Vlad. I was hoping that he wouldn't have to take over for at least another three hundred years or so. Then I could retire to a nice place out in the countryside, with nobody around to stop me from eating the peasants....."

"SHUT UP!" yelled Ingrid. "Why does Vlad get the throne before me? He's a stupid breather- loving idiot. He isn't even a proper vampire!"

"Oh, I would have thought it was obvious" said the Count

"It's the "_Chosen One_" thing isn't it" Ingrid stamped her foot " It would just be_ unheard of_ if I was head of the family above the Grand High Vampire, right? So stupid!"

"No Bat-Brain. It's because you're a _girl_" exclaimed the Count with an exasperated sigh.

"Urgh!" Ingrid screamed at the roof, startling several bats nesting there "I didn't want it to come to this, but I'll just have to stake the little breather wannabe as well"

"Uncle Ivan" Muttered the Count.

"I'm _so_ sorry" Ingrid laughed sarcastically "but Uncle Ivan won't help you now"

"No, you silly girl" The Count rolled his eyes "If Vlad is killed then your Uncle takes the throne"

"Well I'll just have to kill him too, then!"

"Magda"

"For garlic's sake! How many vampires would I have to slay to become head of the family!?" Ingrid was fully hysterical now.

The count was silent for several seconds before speaking "Sixty- four. That's fully grown vampires, there would be a few who haven't quite reached their powers yet, and that number could have significantly increased, if more young heirs have been born"

Ingrid slumped to the floor and screamed a high piercing scream, while beating her fists against the floor. "Look at it this way" said the Count, clutching at his ears " there is every possibility you _could_ become head of the family" Ingrid stopped screaming and looked at her father " _If_ not many new vampires are born, most of the other head of the family retire early, and you live over one thousand years. No, wait, make that 800. I have every confidence that you would be able to defeat Olga." Ingrid raised her head.

"OLGA IS GOING TO INHERIT THE THRONE BEFORE ME?"

"Why, yes, of course" Said the Count.

Ingrid couldn't take any more of this, she immediately turned into a bat and flew out the window, leaving the stake she had held in her hand to clatter on the floor.

Immediately Vlad scrabbled up from his position on the floor and ran to the glowing cage holding his father. Oddly, the Count did not seem at all worried, despite still being stuck in a slayer's cage, and theoretically at the mercy of whoever decided to torment him.

"Dad! Are you okay? How do I get you out of this thing? Oh, but you really shouldn't have said that thing about Olga to Ingrid, it was cruel, even for you. You know that she hates Olga! Dad. Dad! Are you listening to me?" Vlad babbled at the Count through the bars of his prison. The Count looked up from inspecting his fingernails with a look of surprise on his face.

"What? Is somebody talking to me?" He said, while looking around the room before his eyes finally found his son standing next to him "Ah! Vladdie my boy! Finally, you're awake. I always knew that sister of yours would go completely batty. Now! How about helping me out of this _blasted_ cage?"

Vlad rolled his eyes but chose not to comment on his father's nonchalance about Ingrid's "battiness". Perhaps it had seemed different from his perspective, but from what Vlad had seen, the Count had come dangerously close to getting a stake through his chest. Instead of voicing his opinion, Vlad bit his tongue and set about the task of setting his father free. After ten long minutes of working on the small disk projecting the cage, Vlad tweaked a wire and the cage blinked several times before finally disappearing. The count stepped away from the sparking ruins of the cage, and spun around with his arms held out.

"Ah! So good to be free! Well done Vlad, I knew you had it in you. One day you will become a wonderful vampire like....well, like me! Now, before I forget, _please_ get rid of that thing," he gestured towards the stake lying on the floor "such...dangerous objects to have lying around with your sister in such a state." His cape billowed around him as he turned to leave the room.

"Oh, and Vlad?"Vlad turned to his father

"Yes Dad?"

"Don't think I've forgotten about this Grand High Vampire business. We'll talk about it later" and with that the Count left the room in a billow of black cape.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi all! ( or one, or maybe even none... maybe I'm completely raving mad and talking to nobody,** **who knows....) Anyway, thanks to everyone who read and especially to those who reviewed! You know who you are, so have a virtual box of chocolate! Anyway, questions, comments, suggestions, anything, just click that little green box at the bottom of the screen! Also, sorry for not updating- I do however, have a few feeble excuses. So here goes..**

**I am very sorry for not updating but i had a minor case of writer's block and then the computer did something and deleted half of everything I'd written and I am very sorry.**

**See? Feeble. Anyway, back to the story....  
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Vlad sighed. Of course it was too much to ask for the little Grand High Vampire incident to just slip his father's mind. He had thought that his father's doting and blatent favouritism was bad before, but if Vlad's hypothesis was correct, it was going to get much_, much _worse. He sighed again. His new title and all the attenton he would get from his father would really take it's toll on Ingrid. But, knowing the Count, there wasn't much he could do about it other than be understanding towards Ingrid. He knew that all the bad things in her life were very difficult for her, seeing as she had very few friends to talk about them with. _Correction, _Vlad thought, _no friends. Other than Will, and now he's dead...  
_He then felt a feeling of emptiness when he realised that _he_ didn't have any friends either. How utterly depressing. Though the good news was that now, after recieving extensive vampire powers,_ and a pretentious title, _Vlad added in his head, the chances that the Count would allow him to go back to school were practically non- existant. Despite that very, very small consolement, he was still going to miss his best friend Robin, and his sister Chloe....

_Knock Knock!_

His thoughts were interrupted by loud banging on the giant wooden doors of the castle.

"Vladamir Dracula, you will open this door _immediately_, unless you want me to break it down! Because I will, you know. And don't even _think _about pretending that you aren't there because I know you better than that! You'll be sitting there at the table listening to every word I've said, and if I know that much about you, it should also be obvious that I know where the secret door into the castle is. So, are you going to let me in, or are you going to let me wander the dangerous corridors of a Vampire Castle by myself until I find you? We need to talk and we _are_ going to talk one way or another, so the choice is yours, Vlad"

Vlad was, as predicted, sitting at the table, listening intently to every word that was being said, but there was only one thought running through his mind during the entire speech-

_Chloe?_

He probably would have sat there in shock for another five minutes had the voice from beyond the door not interrupted his thoughts again.

"Ten seconds Vlad! Nine, eight, seven..." she threatened

"Okay, okay, Chloe, hold your horses" Vlad cut her off hurriedly. If there was one thing he didn't want, it was his friend, his _breather_ friend, wandering around when there was a distressed and slighty deranged Vampire hanging around somewhere.

He walked to the door and pulled it open, and looked out on the face of Chloe Branagh. Despite having been yelled at by her for the past few minutes, Vlad had almost expected it all to be a figment of his imagination. They both just stood there for several seconds while Vlad adjusted to the idea that she _was_ actually there, before suddenlt pulling her into a hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you Chloe! I though I'd lost all my friends, but- how? How do you even know who I am? Not that I'm not pleased or anything..." Vlad babbled as he stepped back from Chloe.

The angry look on Choe's face forced Vlad to shrink further back from the girl. He continued to back further away as she began to step forward, poking him repeatedly in the chest. This constant physical attack was accompanied by a verbal one that was at least one hundred times fiercer.

"Yes, Vlad, thats a _damn _good question that is! _How_ do I remember you? Or maybe a better question would be _why_ I'm not supposed to remember you! Why did I wake up this morning not knowing you even existed, and then when I went to write in my diary, read back about this "Vlad- my- vampire- friend-who-lives-in-the-castle", who I could remember nothing about? My _"friend"_ and apparantly also my brother's, who somehow found it necessary to erase all memory from _everyone's_ mind. Does that sound like a very good friend to you? Well, does it?" Chloe was all but screaming at the end of her speech, and Vlad was thanking his lucky stars that nobody else was around.

She stood there for several minutes, shaking and red in the face, before crumpling to the ground, sobbing. Vlad rushed to his friend's side and he too sat on the cold stone floor, holding her tightly as she cried into his shoulder.  
They sat there on the floor for what seemed like hours, sunlight from the open door surrounding them, and the only sounds those of Chloe's crying, and Vlad murmering in her ear  
"Everything's going to be okay now. I promise"

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**Short, yes. But I will try to update sooner this time. But if you want to motivate me to write faster.... review! I need people to keep me motivated to write!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my wonderous readers! It's me again( as expected) with my overly annoying author notes! Now, as all fanfics have them, the plea for reviews!! Really, I love getting them, just seeing emails in my inbox makes my day. And even though it doesn't seem like it if you know me ( which you probably don't, seeing as the majority of my readers are from Great Britain, and I am not...and I'm babbling so I'll just shut up now) I do so love communication from people! And it would be nice to build up a bit of a rapport with my readers, you know, see how everyone likes the story, see who reads it, if anyone, that kind of thing. So, drop me a line, even if it's just telling me what coloured socks you wore on Christmas! Please?? Oh, and I also have an idea that I'll run by you. I was thinking of maybe putting little questions for the next chapter at the bottom of the last one for people to vote on- winner is what happens in the next chapter! Wow, I could have explained that SO much better. Anyway I'm babbling again ( mega deja vu) so I'll shut up now.**

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"VLAD!" The disembodied voice of the Count bellowed throughout the castle, snapping Chloe and Vlad out of their contented silence on the floor "Shut that damned door, there is _fresh air_ getting into the crypt" The Count commanded with obvious disgust in his voice.

"YES DAD" Vlad yelled back in a loud voice that made Chloe wince against his shoulder "Oops, sorry Chloe"  
In response Chloe just chuckled. Vlad gave her an odd look as he got up to shut the door "Whats so funny? Not ten minutes ago you were still bawling your eyes out"

Chloe continued to quietly laugh, but then closed her eyes and took several deep breaths as if to compose herself enough to talk. When she opened them again, Vlad could see tears glistening around the edges of her eyes, but this time not from sadness, but from the effort to stop laughing. "Oh, nothing really, just the whole _shut the damned door, there is **air** getting into my crypt_ thing" Chloe said in a voice that was_ such_ a bad imitation of the Count's that Vlad nearly tripped over a stack of books from laughing so hard.

Vlad recovered from his laughing fit for just long enough to choke out "Yeah, he's got to be the only parent in the world who would get angry if he finds his kid's bedroom clean and neat with plenty of sunlight and fresh air!" before reaching the wall and collapsing next to Chloe, who was writhing on the ground cackling madly. This sight only further encouraged the laughter of both Vlad and Chloe. Both of them were rolling on the floor clutching at their ribs from lack of breath, when Vlad sat up, suddenly serious.

"Hey, Chloe, not that I don't like spending time with you, but do you feel like there's something missing? That Robin should be here looking at us like we're mad, and making comments about how _he_ appreciates a good crypt atmosphere, stale air and all?" Chloe sat up too, and looked at Vlad as she remembered what her reason for being there in the first place was.

"Yeah, you're right. I'd almost forgotten, but the reason I'm here in the first place is that I need your help with getting Robin to remember" She said sheepishly, with guilt for forgetting her brother's plight written all over her face.

"Right, of course I'll help, Chloe, Robin's my best mate! And I didn't really want you two to forget me anyway, but I couldn't see any way around it, because all the breathers at the party knew different bits and pieces and there were too many lies to keep up with and all....but you said that you remembered me after reading about me, so why didn't you just get Robin to read the same thing?" Vlad found himself babbling and slightly confused again.

Chloe's cheeks took on a faint pink tinge and it looked like she was thinking twice about telling Vlad the truth, but in the end decided it was for the best.

"Well, see, I wrote everything down really soon after learning your big secret, sort of anticipationg something like this, you being a no good vampire who could turn on us at any second" She paused and shot an apologetic look towards Vlad and in return recieved one that told her it was okay and she should keep going. Before she began to talk again the pink tinge to her cheeks intensified to a glowing red "But at the same time as not trusting you and all, I , er, well, had a bit of a crush on you and er, well, I'm just guessing here, but when you hypnotised us into forgetting all memories of you and your family it was to forget _memories_ and not _emotions_, and when I read what I'd written it brought back feelings that were unique to me that made me remember, but they wouldn't bring back the same for anyone else, like Robin, because they wouldn't have experienced the same emotions as me" While she was speaking she continued to grow redder and redder and ended up just looking at the floor as Vlad stared at her in utter shock at how amazingly insightful her guess at why she could remember him was. In the end the growing silence was broken by Vlad who, with an expression of amusement on his face proclaimed-

"Well I should bloody well hope that Robin doesn't share the same repressed emotions or whatever as you, because that would just be wierd! Come on, lets go un- hypnotise him" He grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her out of the castle and began walking down the road into the town of Stokely. As they walked, they chatted about nothing and everything, all at the same time, and both breathed silent sighs of relief that Chloe's little confession had not made things awkward between them.

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**Well, okay, thats it, another chapter done. I know they're kinda short, but they're sorta like one scene per chapter, if that makes sense, and this time I will make a conscious effort to update more often. In fact if I haven't gotten another chapter up by Thursday (22 January) I give you all permission to send me angry and rude messages! So, I have a question for all you out there- who would like to see Will come back? I actually have a (rather ingenius idea, in my mind) idea for how to bring him back that can be fully backed by everything in te TV series! So yeah, thats the first question---Should Will come back??  
a)Yes  
b)No**

**So get voting!  
**


	4. a short note

I know this isn't a new chapter, but I'm just letting everyone know that I'm not giving up on this story, I just temporarily forgot about it. Lame, I know. But there should be another chapter up soon, because, of course, having actual work to do now, that means I'll be procrastinating more!


	5. Chapter 4

Hi everybody. Well, obviously I changed my name.... and I'm putting up a new chapter. I'm not even going to bother saying sorry for the wait, because I know that it really isn't good enough, so anyway, onwards!

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Vlad and Chloe ran all the way to the Branagh's front door, where they both skidded to simultaneous halts, puffing for breath and faces red from exertion. After a few seconds of regaining her breath Chloe turned to Vald and squeezed out a disjointed sentence  
"You..stay...I'll.....ge'Robin..." and staggered off into the house. Vlad stood outside the doorway, nervously shifting from foot to foot, hoping to anyone or anything that might be listening that seeing him would jolt Robin's memory. If not...Vlad was at a complete loss of what he would do if that happened.  
After a short time, Chloe wandered out of the house dragging a disgruntled- looking Robin behind her. Upon reaching the doorway, he yanked his arm out of Chloe's grip and leant against the frame of the door, looking bored and staring at Vlad with his nose slightly wrinkled. The three children stood there in silence for a few seconds, which felt like an eternity, before Robin turned to his sister with his eyebrows raised in a questioning manner.

"Oh! Right, sorry" Chloe stuttered out, obviously shocked that nothing had happened when Robin saw Vlad " Um, Robin, this is Vlad. He lives up in the castle at the top of the hill. Vlad, this is Robin"

Robin raised his eyebrows again at the mention of the castle, but didn't say anything, just continued to stare at Vlad. Vlad stared back. While he didn't say anything out loud, inside his head, he was practically screaming.

' Come on Robin, remember! I really can't deal with all this vampire stuff without you! I mean, Chloe's great and all, bit she just isn't into the whole undead thing, and won't help with all this new Grand High vampire stuff, and not just that! You're my best friend! I don't know what I'll do without you! I really wish I hadn't hypnotised you...whoah!'

Partway through Vlad's mental tirade, the bored look had slid off Robin's face and his eyes had glazed over. He was no longer leaning on the doorframe, instead standing deathly still, staring aread with a ramrod- straight posture. Vlad grinned. If hypnotism got him into this, it could sure as hell get him out. He took a step towards his mesmerised friend.

"Er, hi, Robin" Vlad began awkwardly,not quite sure how to word his de- hypnotism "Well, remember how, I hypnotised you? Actually, don't remember that, just remember everything else. The forgetting everything _never_ happened, alright?Okay, then..." He snapped his fingers in front of Robin's face.

Immediately the blank expression was gone from Robin's face, and he blinked rapidly and looked once again at Vlad.

"You managed to sneak out, did you? Or is your Dad finally loosening up on the whole "sunlight hours" thing" Robin asked, oblivious that anything out of the ordinary had happened. "Of course! I can't believe I forgot about you being the Head Vampire or whatever it is now, so I suppose that means that your dad can't stop you?" Chloe and Vlad stood there while Robin was rambling on, pleased that his memory was back. Suddenly, he stopped and looked a little sheepish.

"Oh, sorry. I'd forgotten about your sister's boyfriend. Er, is she alright?" He said, ooking a little guilty to have forgotten to offer his condolences.

"Thats okay. Not a huge loss really," Vlad said, them immediately felt guilty. Despite Will's overbearing evilness, he never deserved to die. " Ingrid's a little upset though" Now that's the understatement of the year, whispered the little voice in Vlad's head. "Then again, maybe it would be a good idea to get back to the castle, I believe I may have to prevent a murder" He grimaced and began walking back up the road towards the imposing castle on the hill.

Robin and Chloe shot each other questioning looks, but followed their friend nonetheless.


	6. Chapter 5

**So anyway, here's the next chapter (obviously), and even thhough it's rather short, it seemed to me to be a good place for it to cut off. But I'm going to try my absolute best to get the next one up in the next coupleof days. Feel free to set the dogs on me if I don't. Or chase after me with an axe. Perhaps that would give me motivation...

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The three children returned to the castle at a brisk walk; a pace set by a slightly distracted looking Vladamir who kept a good few meters ahead of Robin and Chloe all the way up the hill. As they walked, or in Chloe's case bounced along somewhere between a walk and a jog, she and Robin continually pestered Vlad's back with many questions. None of them were answered; Vlad just kept walking with a determined look on his face.  
Upon reaching the castle doors, he paused, and with the sound of urgent footsteps gone the three children could hear raised voices from within the castle. Although they couldn't discern individual words, the voices were distinctly those of Ingrid and the Count. Vlad finally turned to his friends and grimaged before hurriedly entering the castle and making a beeline for the hall where by the sounds of it, a near- hysterical Ingrid was yelling at her father.  
Vlad, Chloe and Robin entered the hall in time to see the Count turn into a bat with a dramatic swoop of his cape and fly into the corridor, no doubt to go hide in his coffin for a few hours. As he left, Ingrid slumped into one of the chairs placed around the table, looking defeated. An unusual expression for her to say the least.  
Ingrid's head dropped to the table and she let out a huge sigh. To those who did not know that she was a fully empowered young vampire, she would have looked for all the world like an innocent tennager who was on the verge of tears after a particularly nasty fight with her parents. Robin and Chloe shot Vlad semi-puzzled looks; they knew about the death of Will and how in her rage she had taken to the throne and proclaimed the impending deaths of many innocent civilians in Stokely, but they had no clue about how harshly her dreams, or rather evil plans, had been shot down by the Count. Vlad inconspicuoiusly shook his head and shot s friends looks that clearly told them that it was _not _something to bring up whilst Ingrid was in hearing distance.  
Knowing that she'd had a bad run of luck lately, Chloe smiled sympathetically ( also a little warily) at Inrid, as one would when hearing of an aquaintance's misfortune. Robin, however, stood up a little straighter, ran a hand through his hair and walked right up to Ingrid. Vlad and Chloe simultaneously took on startled expressions and moved closer to their siblings. Robin placed a hand on Ingrid's shoulder, and at his touch, she raised her head and fixed him with a bemused yet slightly entertained look.  
" Ah, Ingrid," Robin started, then took a deep breath and continued in a slightly more confident tone "I offer you my deepest sympathies about Will, and I want you to know that I'm here for you. Whatever you need- a shoulder to cry on, a friend, a rebound romance... I'm here for you"  
Vlad and Chloe looked at each other, highly amused and frankly, blown away by Robin's ability to give his ridiculous little speech with a straight face. Ingrid merely smirked wildly before reaching up and placing her hand on Robin's shoulder, on the opposite side from wher his hand still rested on her shoulder.  
"Robin," She started, smirking even wider at his shocked expression an response to her voluntary contact " I appreciate your gesture, but I would rather marry Renfield than even think about having a 'rebound romance' with you"  
Before Robin had time to look offended, another dramatic cape- flourish annoounced the arrival of the Count.  
"Wonderful, Vladdy's back!And you have friends around. _Marvelous_" When he spoke of Vlad's friends, he did so with heavy sarcasm, but Vlad thought it was best to let him off this time. "Oh, Ingrid. You're _still_ here. Well this works out rather nicely, doesn't it? I have someone I would like you to meet."


	7. Chapter 6

**Very sorry, everyone, I meant to have this done for yesterday, but I got distacted reading some rather excellent (and some not so excellent) fanfics. It's my downfall, I suppose you could call it, reading- if somebody wanted to incapacitate me for several hours (or days) all they would need to do would be make me read something even _mildly _interesting! On occasion, not even interesting- anything with words would do! Again, I apologise, this time for ranting. I don't quite know why, but this chapter just wound up being from Ingrid's point of view. Maybe it's because I found a very Ingrid- inspiring song. I know that she can seem a bit sissy at times in this chapter, but I think that occasionally we forget that deep down she is just a sixteen year old kid. True, a sixteen year old kid who could kick the butt of anyone who thought she was anything but the supreme incarnation of evil, but that's besides the point.**** ~ C-C ****~  


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Ingrid looked at her fingernails, her face the picture of boredom. She knew what this was about. Not thirty minutes ago, her father had been telling her how she was practically an adult now, or in his words a _spinster_, and should most definately not still be in her father's castle leeching off his "gracious hospitality". These words had been accompanied by the usual theatrical cape swishing and the ever striking sniff- hair flick- pose routine. Inwardly, she laughed. What the Count assumed was a dramatic, haughty staring- into- the- distance- with- nose- in- the-air pose, reallymade him look like a dog that had cauht scent of something interesting.  
But the outcome would always be the same. Discussions (or fights, as some would call them) of that nature, would always end in the Count wanting Ingrid to meet somebody. And the somebody would always be a sleazy, warty or poor excuse for a vampire who was willing to trade something of interest with the Count in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage.  
She was tired of her father treating her this way. She may have been an adult in the vampire world, but within the other world, the breather society that she had also grown up in, she was merely a teenager. An entity caught between a child and a young adult. Growing up, she had been so intent on pleasing her father, and fighting to be noticed as just as good a vampire as Vlad could be, she realised that she had not had that in- between stage that breathers had. Come to think of it, she hadn't really had much of a childhood either. When she had been at school, around her she had seen all the other girls her age making friends, growing up and through trial and error slowly finding themselves as adults in the world. Occasionally, she had wished she was like them instead of a loner who scared away those who tried to make friends with her. She wished that her biggest worry was whether he boyfriend was accepted by her parent, not when her parent would next try to auction her off like an animal.  
_Oh, for the love of fangs, you have to stop thinking like this, Ingrid_, she silently berated herself, _thoughts like that mean you have **feelings**, and everyone knows that they are a sure sign of weakness. You are **not** weak._  
Her thoughts were interrupted as the Count (with another of his famous cape swishes) called out to Renfield. At this Vlad's eyes shot to his father.  
"Renfield's back?" He questioned.  
"Well of course" The Count rolled his eyes as if this was the most obvious thing in the world "I went and found him just after you let me out of that damned cage. After all, you couldn't expect me to cook" Following this statement, his eyes flicked to Ingrid, and there was the unspoken _we would get you to do it, but with any luck, you won't be around for much longer_. Ingrid supressed an eye roll of her own. Sometimes the Count was just too easy to read.  
Ingrid sighed and leant back in her chair, rocking it back onto two legs like a rebellious seventh grader. She knew that it annoyed her father, which of course was the entire reason she did it. Of course, with this "suiter" she wasn't too worried about being made to move to the ends of the earth and share a one- roomer with his family and extensive collection of goats, because this time, she had a plan **and** a failsafe. With that in mind, she fixed an aloof smirk on her face and watched her father scream for Renfield who had not yet appeared.  
This time, everyone's heads turned to the giant stone doorway, where a dishevelled looking Renfield had appeared. Ingrid tried to peek around the doorway inconspicuously to catch a look at the latest man who was willing to marry her without her father noticing. He would take her curiousity as enthusiasm, and that would most definately not be a good thing. However, whoever it was that her father wanted her to meet was standing too far back into the corridor for her to be able to see from her current angle, and neither Renfield nor the Count made any move to summon him forward. Rapidlygrowing bored of this nonsense, and just wanting it to be over so she could once again be alone to just sit and think, she rolled er eyes yet again and snapped at both her father and Renfield.  
"Well, bring him out then. I haven't got all day" Ingrid said with a glare so cold it could have frozen mercury.  
"Silly girl!" The Count exclaimed in his best 'obviously- you- have- nothing- but- garlic- for- brains' voice accompanied by a raised eyebrow. "Are you blind now as well as stupid? He's standing right there!"  
She looked over at the doorway again, and still only saw Renfield. Again, Ingrid looked towards the corridor, this time tipping her chair backwards and craning her neck. She was about to ask once more where the latest suiter was, when realisation suddenly dawned on her, and apparantly several other teenagers in the room as well.  
Then the laughter began.


End file.
